Archive for the ‘Take Action’ Category

BREAKING: The Inclusive Curriculum Bill (HB 246) just passed the
Illinois House Education School Curriculum Committee! The vote was 13-7. Thank
you to sponsor State Rep. Anna Moeller! The bill, which is an initiative of
Equality Illinois, The Legacy
Project, and Illinois Safe
Schools Alliance, will include the
contributions of LGBTQ people in the history curriculum in public schools.

Monday at 5:30pm in Chicago’s Federal Plaza, Dearborn and Adams streets, join a community rally in reaction to the Supreme Court ruling allowing a Colorado baker to refuse to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

We will call on Illinois businesses and the state to understand there is no change to the Illinois Human Rights Act that requires LGBTQ and other protected people to be served without discrimination.

Welcome to the Equality Illinois Pride Month campaign to SHOW UP. SPEAK UP! During June, we encourage you to show the colors by showing up and speaking up in many ways:

• SHOW UP at a community pride event scheduled in towns throughout Illinois as well as in many schools, businesses, and faith institutions to demonstrate that we are part of every organization in every corner of Illinois, as demonstrated by the EI Pride Shield designed by artist Todd Mack and donated to Equality Illinois by Kit and Jonelle Welch.

• Support the ongoing work of organizations such as Equality Illinois that fight for LGBTQ civil rights or provide health and social services to people in your community.

• SPEAK UP! by participating in this election season to ensure that LGBTQ voices are heard and also by being involved in the issues locally, statewide, and nationally that impact our community.

CALL TO ACTION: The LGBTQ Inclusive Curriculum Bill is now in the House floor as the final push for action on major legislation is underway in the General Assembly before the scheduled May 31 adjournment.

There is vocal opposition to the bill. We need you to raise your voice in support of the bill and get it to the governor’s desk.

Take Action Today: The Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing all people equal treatment under the law regardless of their sex, is now in the Illinois House, with a vote on ratification hopefully taken before the May 31 adjournment.

In a committee hearing Wednesday morning, the amendment passed on a party line vote of seven Democrats voting “yes” and five Republicans voting “no.” Opponents continue to deploy specious arguments such as that that it would mandate co-ed prisons and bathrooms.

The right wing is working overtime to try to stop ERA from being added to the Constitution. You must tell the Illinois House it can no longer delay ratifying ERA.

Our opponents are resorting to vicious name calling when they talk to Illinois legislators about the #LGBTQ Curriculum Bill. We believe our history should be part of school curriculum so that all students will have a more thorough understanding of history.

Early Voting for the March 20 Illinois primary continues, including at many locations this weekend. Click to find convenient locations and hours in all 102 Illinois counties plus municipal election authorities. Remember, some cities such as Chicago have their own election authorities.

“Outrageous and offensive” and an “…effort to politicize curriculum in order to advance biased beliefs…”

That’s how a right-wing anti-equality organization recently described the Inclusive Curriculum Bill introduced in Springfield this month. The bill ensures the inclusion of the roles and contributions of LGBTQ people in curriculum in Illinois.

Tell your elected leaders that our history is NOT offensive.

The bill is an initiative of Equality Illinois and the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance and sponsored by state Sen. Heather Steans and state Rep. Anna Moeller, 43rd District.

It’s time for the Equality Illinois Show Up. Speak Up! 2018 Agenda. Your Equality Illinois team is on the case in Springfield and working to ensure that LGBTQ issues are included in this election across the state. We are asking you to join us in this work and make sure your voices are heard.
· Attend the Chicago Equality Action Academy Feb. 10 or Feb. 11 to learn how to work on elections.
· Show up at the LGBTQ Forum with District 115 candidates in Carbondale on March 6..
· Participate in the Women of Color Candidates Forum in Chicago on March 8.
· Register to vote in the Illinois primary.
· Attend the Equality Illinois Election Party at Sidetrack on March 20.
· Lobby your legislator April 11 on Equality Illinois LGBTQ Advocacy Day in Springfield.

Using all the tools at our disposal, we will forcefully respond and defend the civil rights of LGBTQ people, who will face discrimination because of this license to discriminate.
We urge you to call on U.S. Senators Durbin and Duckworth and your member of Congress to challenge this guidance and affirm Illinois values of inclusion, justice, and equality.

All Illinoisans should be able to make the most fundamental decisions about their body and their most intimate relationships free from government overreach. And with the rights of women under attack by the Trump Administration, it is more critical than ever that Illinois protect reproductive freedom for women.

HB 40 will preserve reproductive choice for Illinois women and ensure reproductive health care is available to the many women who access it through Medicaid and state employee health insurance plans. This struggle is about fairness and protecting the private medical decisions of women.

Tell Gov. Rauner to sign the LGBTQ panic defense ban. Just click the link below to send him a message and add your name to the thousands of Illinoisans who support the bill.

Today is the 48th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. LGBTQ people, especially transgender people like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, fought back against oppression, discrimination, and harassment. They fought for the fundamental right to lead an authentic life without discrimination or burden.

Their bravery sparked the Pride movement we celebrate this month. As those early champions resisted and persisted, we have the obligation to keep the torch burning and ensure a world where LGBTQ people can lead authentic lives without discrimination or fear.

That’s why we advocated for the LGBTQ panic defense ban this year in the Illinois General Assembly. It’s time for Illinois to make clear in statute that LGBTQ persons’ mere existence is never a legal justification for physical violence against us. Now, it is time for Gov. Rauner to act.

It’s time to let Gov. Bruce Rauner know that we want him to sign HB1785, the bill that will allow transgender Illinoisans to have a birth certificate that matches their gender identity.

The right-wing opponents are already hard at work spreading lies about the bill, and we need YOU in every corner of Illinois to click HERE to send a positive message to the governor’s office in support of the measure that helps transgender Illinoisans correct this essential document.

It takes just a minute. Stop by our booth this weekend at Andersonville Midsommarfest 2017 to sign the message, or anywhere in Illinois click on THIS LINK.

Take action: Tell your U.S. representative to support LGBTQ Illinoisans. Click the link to send a message.

U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood and Randy Hultgren of Illinois are urging President Trump to sign an executive order that would allow discrimination against LGBTQ people.

The proposed executive order is contrary to our laws and values in Illinois. Our members of Congress should support and spread Illinois values of fairness, justice, and the freedom to live one’s life without discrimination. Send a message to your member of Congress that you oppose this kind of executive order.

LGBTQ representation and visibility are more important than ever. Click the <<<image to ask your state senator to support SB 1670 – the LGBTQ Public Service Bill.

Sponsored by State Sen. Scott Bennett of Champaign, SB 1670 allows individuals applying for seats on state boards and commissions to self-identify as LGBTQ; applicants already self-identify their ethnicity, gender, and disability status.

LGBTQ individuals who engage in public service can share our experiences and stories as LGBTQ people. That contributes to policies that are inclusive, affirming, and promote fairness.

Two important pro-LGBTQ bills are under consideration in Springfield. Legislators need to hear from you on BOTH bills, and we’ve made it easy for you to send them a message.

<<Click the image to urge your legislators to modernize the Illinois birth certificate law so transgender Illinoisans can live with dignity and to support the panic defense ban and protect LGBTQ people from violence.

House Bill 1785 would modernize the state’s vital records law so transgender Illinoisans won’t have to have surgery in order to get the gender marker corrected on their birth certificate.

Senate Bill 1761 would curtail use of the anti-LGBTQ panic defense in murder cases in Illinois.

These bills will help LGBTQ Illinoisans live more equitably in Illinois. Please take action today.

LGBTQ Americans find themselves in a position we haven’t been in for nearly a decade: fighting against an administration that wants to turn back the clock on LGBTQ rights. This sadly signals to others that it is permissible to try to stop the progress we’ve all fought so hard to achieve locally and nationally.

To this, Equality Illinois is responding with an aggressive Spring to Action agenda to build a strong and affirming voice among LGBTQ Illinoisans and our allies throughout the state to keep Illinois as an island of equality. At the same time, we are part of the national fight to defend our freedoms.

The Spring to Action agenda begins next week in Springfield and continues in cities throughout the state. In the coming weeks, Equality Illinois will host a series of trainings on LGBTQ issues, engage in town hall forums, and sponsor EqualityCon 2017 in Springfield for a daylong conference. Local LGBTQ and allied organizations are cosponsoring the trainings, town halls and EqualityCon. Events are scheduled in Springfield, Peoria, Carbondale, Bloomington-Normal, and Metro East.

With the Trump election and Republican sweep, the anti-LGBTQ flood gates have been opened on a national scale:

· The First Amendment Defense Act, legislation that would establish a free pass for any business, agency, or person to discriminate against LGBTQ people, has significant support among Congressional Republicans. President-elect Trump has promised to sign it. Your support of $25 strengthens our voice when we call on our allies in Congress to take every means necessary to block this hateful bill.

· Vice-President-elect Mike Pence is calling for the end of Education Department guidance affirming non-discrimination protections for transgender students. Equality Illinois will use your $25 to activate our base to call on your elected officials to remind them of the lasting harm that discrimination in schools has on our youth.

· Anti-LGBTQ groups are salivating at the prospect of President-elect Trump striking down President Obama’s executive order protecting LGBTQ people who work for thousands of federal contractors from discrimination in the workplace. Your donation will help us let Trump know that LGBTQ Illinoisans and our allies hold him responsible for protecting all Americans from discrimination.

Your civil rights protections should not be at risk with the change in administrations, but that’s the reality we face and we will resist at every turn. Now is the time to deepen your commitment to equality and justice; donate $25 today. Everyone who donates will have their named added to our letter to the president-elect, letting him know our interests must be respected!

Equality Illinois will be adopting a new strategic plan effective July 1, 2017 that will outline our civil rights agenda for the upcoming 4 years. In order to make sure our agenda is most reflective of the diverse viewpoints of the LGBTQ and allied community in Illinois, we need your input.

Please take a few minutes to fill out the online survey. Not only will you have a chance to inform our civil rights agenda, but every week 2 people who complete the survey will win a $50 American Express gift card.

You should not have to prove your gender identity to use facilities at a restaurant, hotel, or grocery store. But currently, in the City of Chicago, a transgender or gender non-conforming person could be asked to show proof of gender identity in the form of a government-issued ID. That’s fundamentally unfair.

That is why Equality Illinois supports a newly introduced Chicago Equal Access Ordinance that would prohibit places of public accommodations from asking patrons to show a government ID as proof of gender identity to use the restroom.

Tell your alderman to vote for the ordinance that would ensure full equal access to public accommodations consistent with a person’s gender identity (Ordinance 2016-3973). If you don’t know your alderman or how to get it touch, look it up here.

This legislative session is a busy one for champions of LGBT equality in Illinois. With proposed legislation and a budget impasse that has the ability to significantly affect many in our community, now is the time to tell Springfield where we stand. Register for the 2016 LGBT Advocacy Day on Wed., April 13!

This daylong advocacy event in Springfield includes lobbying training, lunch, meetings with legislators, and a visit to the capitol and concludes with a reception at the Illinois State Library.

This is a great opportunity to meet with fellow supporters of LGBT equality and let your voice be heard on a series of issues that affect us all.

It’s happened in other states, and now it’s happening in Illinois. A shameful bill, which would force ‪‎transgender‬ students to use separate school facilities from their peers, has advanced to the Illinois House Human Services Committee. We need to stop it in its tracks! Sign the petition at the link below.

We’ll deliver the petition to the legislators on the committee, which could take action on this bill in April, and to your representative.

HB 4474 is an awful and harmful policy that would write discrimination into Illinois law and make schools less safe. Please sign the petition.

President Obama performed his constitutional duty by nominating Judge Merrick Garland to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Join Equality Illinois in calling on the U.S. Senate to ‪do your job‬ and our two Senators, Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk, to carry through on their constitutional responsibilities to fairly and thoroughly consider the nomination and hold a confirmation vote within a reasonable time.

This Supreme Court nomination is likely to set the direction of the nation’s highest court for a generation. LGBT Americans and our families and friends know how important that is, with the court’s decision affirming our right to marry not even one year old.